kids activities Archives - Moms & Munchkins

Celebrating Father’s Day with Disney Junior Canada

June 10, 2013 By Cheryl Leave a Comment

Father’s Day is quickly approaching and Disney Junior Canada has a lot planned for us! A Finding Nemo Twitter party, the debut of Finding Nemo on Disney Junior Canada, special episodes featuring your favourite male role models and a chance to win a prize valued at $33,000. What?! You read that right – a $33,000 prize! Keep reading to find out how you can win!

Finding Nemo on Disney Junior Canada:

To celebrate Father’s Day, Disney Junior Canada has planned a special movie showcasing the bond between a father & son – Finding Nemo! My family has not yet watched this movie so we’re pretty excited for the commercial-free premiere on Saturday, June 15th at 6pm ET.

Nemo is an adorable little clownfish who gets scooped up by a diver. Nemo’s father (Marlin) and Dorey (voiced by the incredibly funny Ellen DeGeneres) set off on an adventure to find Nemo.

Interesting Fact: Did you know that the sea anemone protects the clownfish from predators and the clownfish defends the anemone from its predators? It kind of sounds like they are BFF’s of the sea!

For a fun Finding Nemo party food, I was trying to create a sea anemone out of an onion blossom. I thought the deep fried onion blossom resembled a sea anemone and would be an adorable addition to a Finding Nemo party. I first tried to create a healthier version of an onion blossom by ditching the deep fryer and using olive oil and balsamic vinegar instead. I’ll spare you the pictures, but it when it came out of the oven it looked like a sea of floating onion chunks. I moved onto Plan B – purchase a deep fried onion blossom from a restaurant! Although it isn’t the healthiest snack food, you can surround it with healthier options like starfish (cheese cut into star shapes), coral (carrot sticks), and seaweed wraps (green tortillas topped with sandwich meat, then rolled and sliced into bite-sized pieces).

Finding Nemo Twitter Party:

Do you follow Disney Junior Canada on Twitter? If you don’t already, you’re going to want to start today! They will soon be announcing a fun Finding Nemo Twitter Party and you’re not going to want to miss out on this one!

Father’s Day on Disney Junior Canada:

On Sunday, June 16^th, Disney Junior Canada will be airing special shows featuring male role models from some of your favourite shows. These will be playing throughout the day so be sure to tune in! Perhaps you can even make Dad some mustache-shaped pancakes to enjoy while watching a bit of TV.

Win a 2013 Toyota Prius v:

Now onto this $33,000 prize you’re wondering about – a family-sized 2013 Toyota Prius v! You can enter at Disney Junior Canada plus you can earn bonus entries simply by watching Disney Junior Canada (which I know you already do!). Be sure to watch Disney Junior Canada weekdays in June between 5 – 7pm ET and spot the Toyota Prius v. Each day it will be shown with a different bonus code. You then need to visit Disney Junior Canada and enter the secret code. Each correct Bonus Code is worth 5 extra entries so you won’t want to miss out on catching these codes! Your last day for entering codes is June 28th so don’t delay! Good Luck!

Disclosure: I’m part of the Disney Junior Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Filed Under: Family Fun Ideas Tagged With: disney, family fun, kids activities

Choo Choo! Thomas Live Tour is Coming to You!

June 5, 2013 By Cheryl Leave a Comment

You’ll want to get a pen and your calendar ready because I’m about to share some really exciting news about Thomas the Train and his friends! The Thomas Live Tour is travelling across Canada this year and I have all of the dates and stops here to share with you!

Do you remember when I shared the fun information on the free personalized Thomas e-stories with you? Here’s the link in case you missed it. Have you been enjoying the stories with your little ones? What has been your favourite story?

My little guy turned 2 last month and his big birthday gift was a train set. He absolutely loves it! Anyone out there with a two year old knows how tough it can be to hold his/her attention but he can honestly sit and play with that train set for an hour! My grandpa was a huge fan of trains. In fact, the basement of their farm house was filled with trains and a little town of train tracks, stores, people and more. Every time we went to the farm, Grandpa would proudly put on his train engineer hat and start up the trains for all his grandchildren. It’s no wonder why my little guy loves his train set so much – I think he was born with a love for trains! My grandpa would be so proud.

Thomas Live Tour Dates:

Thomas & Friends are coming across Canada in an interactive and entertaining show that brings Thomas to life and also features Sir Topham Hatt and Driver Sam. This musical show will be stopping in at various shopping malls, fairs and different events across Canada throughout the year. Here’s a link to the tour schedule – are they stopping in your city?

Preparing For The Show:

There are so many fun ways to get ready to watch the Thomas Live Tour!

stop by your local toy store and grab a cute train engineer or conductor hat to wear to the show
bring a wooden train whistle to the show and be prepared to hear a lot of “Choo Choo!“
spend quality time together reading the free personalized e-stories each night and talking about what you are most excited to see in the show

Have you already been to a Thomas Live Tour? If so, let me know what you thought of it in the comments below. Any tips to share with other parents who are planning to attend in their city?

Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Filed Under: Family Fun Ideas Tagged With: family fun, fisher-price, kids activities

Games with Parachutes

June 4, 2013 By Cheryl Leave a Comment

The Easter Bunny delivered a toy parachute this year and we’ve been having a lot of fun with it. There are so many fun games with parachutes perfect for little kids. My little guy is two and absolutely loves the parachute games we play with him. In this post I’ll share a few of these ideas with you – I hope you enjoy them!

Games with Parachutes:

Waves – One child stands in the middle while the kids outside shake the parachute creating a wave effect.

Popcorn – Place a few small balls in the middle of the parachute and have the kids shake the parachute and bounce the balls without letting the balls fall off the parachute.

Sit Inside a Bubble – Have all of the kids raise the parachute as high as possible and then everyone hops inside while holding the parachute handles behind their back and sitting on the ends of the parachute. It creates a fun parachute bubble that slowly lowers while the kids are sitting inside the parachute “tent”.

Duck Duck Goose – This is like the traditional duck duck goose game where one player walks around the circle tapping each child lightly on the head while saying duck, duck, duck…until one child is called the goose. The goose then stands up and tries to run back to the open seat. The first person to the open space gets to sit while the other person the takes a turn tapping everyone on the head. In this version, when the players are running around the outside of the parachute, the other players shake the parachute to make it a bit more difficult to see the empty seating area.

Do you have a play parachute at home? What games with parachutes do you play?

For more family fun ideas, visit our Family Fun page. You can also follow us on Facebook to keep updated on the latest ideas.

Filed Under: Family Fun Ideas, Slider Tagged With: family fun, kids activities

Beating Summer Boredom

May 29, 2013 By Cheryl Leave a Comment

With summer vacation quickly approaching, you may be wondering how to keep your kids entertained throughout the summer months. With the help of Denise at The CreativiDee Workshop, we’ve created a summer bucket list of 50 (plus a bonus idea!) fun activities to enjoy this summer and we’ve put it into a free printable for you!

Summer Bucket List Ideas:

Here are just a few of the fun ideas that you’ll find in the free printable.

Play water balloon dodge ball
Jump through the sprinklers
Visit 5 playgrounds you haven’t visited before
Build a sand castle
Have a picnic at the park
Play soccer at the park
Fly a kite
Play catch at the park
Blow bubbles
Play a round of outdoor mini golf or visit a driving range
Play beach volleyball
Play with a Frisbee at the park
Set up a silly obstacle course in your own backyard
Play basketball at a public outdoor court
Play tennis in an outdoor court
Arrange for a tour of your local firehouse
Plant some flowers
Feed the ducks at the local park
Watch some fireworks on Canada Day or the 4^th of July
Try a messy science experiment outside (visit ScienceBob.com for ideas)
Paint & hang a birdhouse
Go out on a boat (canoe, raft, etc.)
Go out for ice cream
Create a new flavor of lemonade
Visit the local animal shelter & drop off toys for the animals

What items would you add to a summer bucket list?

This free printable is available to Moms & Munchkins Monthly Newsletter Subscribers. The newsletter is free and you can sign up here. Each month we’ll update you on what’s planned for Moms & Munchkins along with a fun free printable to enjoy with your family. After you sign up, you’ll be sent the secret password and link to the free printables page (including all of the past free newsletter printables of 2013). The printable Family Fun Summer Bucket List will be available on June 1st.

We’d like to give a BIG Thank You to Denise with The CreativiDee Workshop for designing this fun printable for us.

Filed Under: Family Fun Ideas Tagged With: family date ideas, family fun, free printable games, kids activities

Born To Be Wild

May 12, 2013 By Cheryl Leave a Comment

I am so excited to announce that the snow is finally gone! Hip Hip Hooray! We had a new snowfall record this year and I was worried that the snow would last until June. My little guy is so happy to be back to playing outside and he was really excited to see his new Fisher-Price Power Wheels Harley-Davidson Rocker. He can now cruise down the sidewalk in style without Mom & Dad having to push him along on his tricycle. Yep, this little dude is enjoying his new independence!

Fisher-Price Power Wheels Harley-Davidson Rocker:

This ride-on motorcycle is geared towards ages 18 months to 4 years and it has a maximum weight capacity of 50 pounds. My husband was a little disappointed that they didn’t have one in his size too!

My little guy needed a little briefing on how to get started, how to switch to reverse and how to stop. He still needs a bit of practice but he’s starting to get it. Actually, one of the first times he hopped on we happened to be in the garage and he started driving towards the wall. The goofy little guy took his hands off the handles and put them up over his eyes and he drove into the wall. He sure had a good laugh about that before he switched it in reverse and threw his hands up over his eyes again. Oh boy…I think we’re going to have trouble with this little dude! I can’t tell if he’s a daredevil in training or a scaredy cat! Either way, with a maximum speed of 2.5 mph (4 km/h), I’ll be able to catch him if he tries any more sneaky tricks.

I love how his hair blows in the breeze as he cruises down the sidewalk. He’s just too cute! It took him a long time to grow hair so even though he may have a curly mullet now, I’m not ready to cut off any of those golden locks! Besides, don’t all the cool motorcyclists have mullets?

Another great thing about the Fisher-Price Power Wheels Harley-Davidson Rocker is that it drives both on hard surfaces and grass. So even if my little guy takes after his mommy’s driving skills, he’ll still be able to cruise if he veers off the walking path and into the grass every now and then.

This is a really cool toy for toddlers and pretty stylish too! So grab those mini leather jackets, sunglasses and temporary tattoos and get ready for a neighbourhood cruise!

You can learn more about the Fisher-Price Power Wheels Harley-Davidson Rocker here on the Fisher-Price website.

Filed Under: Family Fun Ideas Tagged With: family fun, fisher-price, kids activities, parenting

Kindergarten Graduation Party

May 8, 2013 By Cheryl 1 Comment

Is your little one about to graduate from kindergarten and make the big transition into Grade 1 this fall? Even if your little one’s school doesn’t host a graduation ceremony, you can still plan your own little Kindergarten Graduation Party at home! Here I’ll share a few cute ideas with you along with a free printable party package! These ideas and printables are pretty general with regard to grade so you could use them to celebrate the graduation of any grade this year.

Kindergarten Graduation Party – Decorations:

For your backdrop, plain brown paper works well (to give the look of a bulletin board) or you could also use a chalkboard. Spoonful has a great free printable for grad caps. Simply trace a few of these onto black cardstock paper and use them as party decor.

The free printable kindergarten graduation party package (click here for the freebie) also includes a “congratulations banner” like the one featured in the photo above (as you can see – I ran out of space on the wall – oopps!).

The printable circles can be used for cupcake toppers, favor tags or on napkin rings.

Your party decor can also include items like alphabet building blocks, crayons, bulletin boarders and more.

Kindergarten Graduation Party – Food:

The printable party package includes multiple food tents to help you with ideas for party food. Some cute ideas are:

Diplomas: sandwich meat wrapped in tortillas and tied with a black licorice ribbon
Cookies
Juice
Mini pies
Cupcakes
Book Worms (gummy worms)
Graduation cap cupcakes (check out this adorable creation by East Coast Mommy)

Kindergarten Graduation Party – Favors:

Party favors can be as simple as a box of Smarties labeled with “Smartie Pants” tags or cookies with the free printable “One Smart Cookie” tag. Little bags of art supplies are also a great idea like crayons, sidewalk chalk, finger paint and kid-friendly clay.

Have you ever hosted a kindergarten graduation party?

*Digital Paper by Happy Heart Studios

Filed Under: Family Fun Ideas Tagged With: family fun, graduation, kids activities